


Dawn

by raspberrylimonade



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Established Relationship, F/M, Fall Maiko Week 2020, Fluff without Plot, Married Life, Post-Canon, Romance, introspective vignette
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-30
Updated: 2020-10-30
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:08:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,017
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27279274
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/raspberrylimonade/pseuds/raspberrylimonade
Summary: “What’re you thinking about?” Zuko rasped.Mai answered honestly. “You.”
Relationships: Mai/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 10
Kudos: 82





	Dawn

**Author's Note:**

> 'Dawn' for Fall Maiko Week

She hated sunset. It was the orange for her. She just couldn’t stand that colour. It wasn’t quite red, didn’t really fit well with any other colours, always screaming for attention, loud and garish it was. It conjured memories of screaming and burning flesh in the dark arena. Dark. Darkness always followed sunset, creeping in slowly before enveloping the earth. Mai hated it, the suddenness with which night followed twilight.

Sunrise was different. Sunrise was soft and golden, the promise of warmth. It was yellows and rays cutting through the darkness. It was Zuko’s eyes.

When she travelled with Azula, the princess always had them up and ready at the crack of dawn. Mai hated it, especially as summer approached and the days got longer.

“She’s so precise,” Ty Lee gushed once. “It’s almost...military!”

Mai hadn’t responded, quietly wondering if they were Azula’s friends or soldiers.

Mornings with Zuko were refreshingly laid back. He quickly learnt never to make any plans for the two of them too early in the day, knowing Mai liked taking her time to get ready. He didn’t expect her to be all active and energised. He was content to just lounge around and share teacakes with her.

When she moved into the palace (and effectively his bedroom), mornings became much more than just visiting one another for breakfast. It offered them a glimpse into each other’s routines and habits - Zuko’s, specifically, through Mai’s bleary eyes. He always rose before her, but always tried his best not to jostle her as he climbed out of bed.. It was honestly quite endearing, how slow and careful he would be.

Contrary to popular belief, Zuko was not a morning person. He would stir as the sun rose above the horizon, yes, such was the fate of many powerful firebenders. However, he preferred to lay in bed whenever he could, awake but still at rest. Of course, such opportunities were few and far between.

When he was young, he had studies and training. While he was banished, he had to find the Avatar, and the drive to restore his honour drove him out of bed (the crew would testify to his early morning grumpiness, and always wondered why he simply did not allow himself to sleep in. He was in charge after all.) Then he was back home, but so miserable and restless that lying in bed was hardly restful.

Even after he joined Aang’s group, they were always on the run or going on missions. Or he had to train Aang (the kid was certainly a morning person if there ever was one). Then the war ended and he became Fire Lord, earning all the meetings and events that came with it.

The days he got to lie in were few and far between. Zuko cherished them, these times where he got to slowly charge up, feeling the sun creep into his veins. He learnt the hard way that a sudden rush of energy - like the comet - could be exhilarating, but left one high and dry once it was gone. Firebending was about breathing, meditating, feeling the heat around oneself and stoking one’s inner fire. (Ugh, he was starting to sound like Uncle.) That was much more sustainable. People liked to say firebenders rose with the sun, but daylight was worth nothing without the chance to soak it in. The mornings where he was forced out of bed left him tired and grumpy by midday.

He also enjoyed those empty mornings for he got to spend them with Mai. The lazy mornings were a moment of quiet they got to themselves. They could forget the frenzy of politics and court life and simply  _ be  _ together.

Speaking of Zuko, Mai could feel his arm tightening around her waist, pulling her closer to him (not that she wasn’t already pressed up against him). Moments later, she felt his lips on her hairline. That was the sign he knew she was awake.

Her fingers curled against his skin before splaying out. She pressed her hand to his warm chest, turned her head to press her lips to his sternum, then slowly peeled her eyes open.

Her husband’s honeyed irises gaze back at her.

Dawn with Zuko was one of the times where Mai’s inhibitions vanished completely. The smile that pulled at her lips was effortless. She arched against him, and Zuko could feel his chi coiling in his stomach like a dragon ready to strike. Oh, he rose with the sun, yes, but his wife  _ awakened _ him.

Her dark hair glistened in the morning light, a glossy, black river tumbling over her shoulders and tickling his chest. He buried his fingers in them, pushed the inky tresses out of her face. Then, finally, he ducked his head and kissed her.

It was simple and chaste, lasting no more than two seconds. When they slowly pulled apart, however, Zuko felt like the sun was shining on his face. Mai, for all her gloomy and cold exterior, was his sunlight.

She made his life brighter without being saccharine. Back in his darkest days, she never pretended that everything was fine and rosey, yet somehow became the rays of light breaking through his inner storm. 

The easy smile she gave him let him know she felt likewise.

To Mai, Zuko had always been a bright flame in her otherwise dull and monotonous childhood. She admired the way he could never hide his feelings (although sometimes he got too dramatic). With Zuko, there was no fake politeness, no veiled favours.

Now he was a lighthouse, giving her purpose. Mai was admittedly apathetic, but Zuko’s strive to build a new Fire Nation pulled her in and dragged her along with him.

She could spend an eternity with him like this, ensconced together in their sunlit bubble, her body resting against his, his warm hands stroking all the stiffness out of her muscles and joints with their slow circles. It was simple, but it never got boring. Perhaps that was what love did.

“What’re you thinking about?” Zuko rasped.

Mai answered honestly. “You.”


End file.
